Tag: Mariano Rajoy

Spanish premier Mariano Rajoy has declared that the latest incursion into Gibraltar waters, that saw London call in his Ambassador on Tuesday, “can be clarified”, and highlighted that Britain and Spain continue to enjoy “excellent relations.” He hoped such incidents will not be repeated but admitted that Spain and UK have long held opposing positions on the question of Gibraltar.

The influential founding editor of Spain’s second-biggest newspaper, El Mundo, stepped down on Thursday after a decline in circulation and a series of revelations of alleged corruption in the ruling party.

Lawmakers from the Spanish region of Catalonia voted to seek a referendum on breaking away from Spain on Thursday, setting themselves up for a battle with an implacably opposed central government in Madrid. The Catalan Parliament in Barcelona voted 87 to 43, with 3 abstentions, to send a petition to the national parliament seeking the power to call a popular vote on the region’s future.

Catalonia's president has called on European Union prime ministers for support as the region seeks a vote on independence in November this year, the source of an increasingly bitter fight with Spain's central government.

Spain’s government proposed a law to control more tightly the financial activities of political parties, after corruption scandals in recent years involving both left and right. The law will ban legal and corporate entities from making donations to parties, and banks will no longer be allowed to cancel their debts or negotiate with them interest rates that would be below market levels. Donations are currently allowed up to a limit of 100,000 Euros a year.

The Spanish government has vowed to block plans by parties in Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence on 9 November of next year. The poll will not be held, Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told journalists moments after Catalonia's President, Artur Mas, announced a deal.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy drew a line under the diplomatic bag incident at the Gibraltar border following a conversation with his British counterpart, David Cameron. The two men spoke on the side lines of an EU summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, although their conversation centered mostly on Scotland and Catalonia, according to Spanish reports. “This (incident) has been resolved” said the Spanish president.

Spain’s President Mariano Rajoy has declared his intent to sustain both good relations with Britain and tough controls on Gibraltar at the border. The remarks came in an interview with Radio Nacional de España in which he defended Spain’s attitude to Gibraltar.

In a poorly attended Ibero-American summit held during two days in Panama, the heads of state and government from the Americas, plus Spain and Portugal, decided that instead of holding annual meetings they would get together every other year, starting after the 2014 summit in Veracruz, Mexico.

President Mariano Rajoy making the round of financial media in New York this week, said Spain had emerged from recession in the third quarter with estimated economic growth of 0.1% to 0.2% forecast and 0.5% to 1% in 2014.